[[quoteright:350:[[HaremGenre http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ShuffleMT1.jpg]]]][[caption-width-right:350:[[OnTheNextEpisodeOfCatchphrase Which girl would you choose?]]]]

->'''Eustoma:''' To put it plainly, you can choose to become king of the gods, or king of the demons. If you pick my Sia, you can use the power of the gods as much as you want!->'''Forbesii:''' But choose Nerine, and all the power of the demons will be yours to use however your heart desires.->'''Rin:''' ''[[LoudGulp *Gulp*]]''-->-- "The Man Who Could Become a God or a Demon!"

''SHUFFLE!'' is an HGame that was [[BleachedUnderpants adapted]] into a successful [[HaremGenre Harem Anime]]. The series is notable for its vivid character designs, catchy tunes, and interesting plot twists. While still a comedy, ''SHUFFLE!'' is far more emotional than many of its counterparts in the harem genre.

The series is set in a world much like our own, but which diverged from ours when, about a decade previous to the start of the story, a gateway to the world of the demons and the world of the gods appeared (in spite of their names, the gods and demons aren't any more or less evil or good than humans, the only difference from humans being their ability to use magic and their pointed triangular ears, and the only difference between the gods and the demons being the length of the ears). Gods and demons begin migrating to Earth, and in spite of the presence of magic and non-humans, everyday life continues on much as it had before.

The story starts when the [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent ordinary lives]] of Rin and his [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend childhood friend]] Kaede is disrupted by the arrival of the king of the gods and the king of the demons, both of whom have decided the human Rin is to be the heir to their kingdoms... meaning that they each want him to marry their respective daughters, Lisianthus (Sia) of the gods and Nerine (Rin again in the Japanese version, Rina in the dub to avoid confusion with the UnluckyEverydude) of the demons. Soon thereafter the mysterious, [[EmotionlessGirl emotionless]] Primula (or Rimu/[[SpellMyNameWithAnS Rim]]) shows up. Together with Kaede's [[SempaiKohai senpai]] Asa, these are the five girls from whom Rin must choose his girlfriend.

There's also a second season, ''SHUFFLE! Memories'' (which is basically a recap of the first anime), an UpdatedRerelease named ''Shuffle! Essence+'' and three spin-off games: [[VisualNovel/TickTack ''Tick! Tack!'']], ''Really? Really!'' and ''SHUFFLE! Love Rainbow''. The original game, ''Tick! Tack!'' and ''Really? Really!'' were officially released in English by Mangagamer.

----!!This work provides examples of:* AccidentalKiss: [[spoiler:Refer to CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds. Completely by accident, Kaede ends up falling over Sia and kisses her due to the momentum. Doubles as [[HoYay Les Yay]] and a ShipTease. It may be possible they become SchoolgirlLesbians, but it's never explained.]]** Happens in Really? Really! with Kaede falling on Rin. * AccidentalPervert: Rin with just about any girl.* ACupAngst: Mayumi** It is not that she dislikes her breasts, [[PetitePride in fact far from it]], [[BerserkButton it is just she hates being teased about it]].*** Really? Really! retcons her not disliking her breasts by having her adjust their size in multiple memories. She always gets called out on it and gets depressed that nobody goes along with it. Though another memory shows that she's about b-cup, meaning the teasing doesn't make any sense.* AdaptationDyeJob: ** Asa's hair in the VisualNovel is a different shade of green, along with slight hair colour changes in other characters as well.** Mayumi got a dye job to her ''eyes'', of all things. Her heterochromia are much, much more obvious in the game than the show. * AgainstTheSettingSun: [[spoiler:Rin confesses to Asa, and they kiss AgainstTheSettingSun]].* AmusingInjuries: Mostly involving God's head being connected to Sia's choice of chair for the day.** And this:--> '''Itsuki:''' (Referring to Primula) Don't worry Rin, it's healthy to embrace your fetishes...--> '''Rin:''' You bastard...--> '''Mayumi:''' Huh, what do you mean?--> '''Itsuki:''' What I'm trying to say is that Rin is a Loli-Pedo...--> '''Rin:''' (SMASHES his fist into Itsuki's solar plexus)--> '''Itsuki:'''' Wheeeze.... (Dies) ** [[spoiler:Averted with Kaede's treatment of Rin in the past.]]* ArtificialHuman: [[spoiler:Primula and Nerine's clone Lycoris.]]* BatmanGambit: Forbesii and Eustoma constantly use this to encourage Rin to choose their respective daughter over the other.* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Both Sia and Nerine towards Rin.* BerserkButton: [[spoiler:Kaede,]] see ClingyJealousGirl below.* BewareTheNiceOnes:** Nerine: sweet, kind and gentle, but say anything about Rin and you go explodey** [[spoiler: Kaede.]] Very sweet, but take Rin away from her, and... [[{{Yandere}} hoo boy...]] [[spoiler:Though only in the anime.]])* {{Bishonen}}: Arguably Rin, but YMMV.* {{Bokukko}}: Asa AND her Mommy Ama, the latter of whom amazingly is ''still'' girly in spite of her use of masculine pronouns to refer to herself.* {{Bookends}}:** The scene in the first episode where Kaede gives Rin his lunch while forgetting her own is replicated in the last episode, where [[spoiler: Rin is replaced by Primula]].** The first and last episodes both show Kaede wrapped in a green towel after a bath. * BreakTheCutie: [[spoiler: This happened to Kaede when her mother died. She was so hopeless that Rin made her think that he was at fault so she'd at least live to ''hate'' him since she was just fading away otherwise.]]* BumblingDad:** Sia's father, Eustoma.** In the HGame, both Sia and Nerine's dads.* CameraFiend: Mayumi. If there's a relationship development and she's around, it's getting recorded for posterity.* CatchPhrase: "My my my!" from Kareha.* ChekhovsGun: There are numerous examples scattered throughout the series. A few examples: Sia [[spoiler:and mirrors]], the flashback with Kaede, and Rin getting [[spoiler:the boxcutter]] in episode 23.* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Kaede, who tends to wait on Rin hand and foot.* CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds: Shown in one mini-scene in the ending credits of the final episode, rather than in the series itself.* ClingyJealousGirl: Some of the girls towards Rin, but ''especially'' Kaede. Five words: "Give Rin-kun... ''back'' to me..."* CloneDegeneration: The clone of [[spoiler:Nerine]] was never expected to live very long.* ColorCodedCharacters: Each of the eligible girls has a different hair colour, which can also be related to her personality and one of the five [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_elements_(Japanese_philosophy) Japanese Elements]].** Kaede is orange haired, with a very down-to-earth and dependable attitude. (Earth)** Nerine has [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair blue hair]], with hidden depths and a mostly calm demeanor. (Water)** Asa has green hair, and tends to be energetic and capricious. (Wind)** Lisianthus has red hair, and a bit of a fiery temper (especially if you're her dad). (Fire)** Primula's hair is purple, and at first she seems to be an empty EmotionlessGirl. (Void)* ConspicuousCG: The teacups at the love theme park in episode 18 stands out.* CoolBigSis: Asa-senpai, oh, so very, very cool.* CovertPervert: Kareha. Only covert in that she doesn't say out loud what she's imagining. However, whenever a situation that could be construed as romantic or perverted presents itself, she will {{Squee}} and glow.* CuttingOffTheBranches: Averted. Barring Primula, each girl wins in a different continuity or followup. Lisanthus gets the manga, Asa the anime, Really? Really! is a continuation of Kaede's path while VisualNovel/TickTack is a sequel for Nerine.* DarkIsNotEvil: Demons here aren't evil. In fact, Forbesii is a really NiceGuy though he is fairly savvy to common anime fetishes like maid and catgirl outfits.--> '''Forbesii:''' "My wife and Nerine-chan won't let me do chores at home because they're worried about what others might say..."--> '''Rin:''' "I bet the number of devil worshipers is decreasing..."* DatePeepers: When four people conspire to create the perfect date for a couple, don't expect them to let the date happen naturally.* DirtyKid: There's a little kid called Masato who likes to pull up the girls' skirts at the tea shop Kareha works at. She's not very disturbed by it. The temp waitress, on the other hand, is terrified, for the simple reason that she [[GoingCommando lost her panties]] earlier.* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Killing himself is the ''ONLY'' way that Rin can save Asa from dying. It forces her to use all the built up magic in her body to bring him back to life, which was the very problem that was killing her.]]** [[spoiler:Attempted by Kaede in the anime after she learns the truth about her mother's death. She only lives because Rin pulled her back a moment before a truck hit her.]]* EmotionlessGirl: Primula. [[spoiler: Though as her own route reveals, its not that she doesn't have emotions, she just doesn't know how to express them. Her actual personality is really very bubbly and cheerful]].* EstablishingCharacterMusic: When the five main girls first appear in the anime, they are introduced with their own leitmotifs.* ExtremeDoormat: Invoked by Kaede. She absolutely refuses to let Rin do ''any'' work without Rin taking a long time to convince her.* EyeCatch: Either some happy frolicking cats if it's a happy episode or the girls looking serious if it's a dramatic episode.* EyeScream: In their flashbacks together, [[spoiler:Kaede is seen dropping a boxcutter in such a way so that it slices Rin's eye.]] He gets better, though.* EyesAreUnbreakable: [[spoiler:Rin's eye suffers no permanent damage from Kaede cutting it by dropping a boxcutter that cuts Rin's eye.]]* FanDisservice: Especially later on in the anime: if you see a naked breast, clearly, something is about to happen.* {{Fanservice}}: Plenty all around. You see every major female character's breasts at one point or another, with [[spoiler: [[FirstGirlWins Asa]] being the first]].* FantasticArousal: Nerine's ears.* FirstGirlWins: [[spoiler:Averted BIG time]] in the anime series. In the Visual Novel, there's no clear main heroine, so it's mostly averted.** Played straight [[spoiler: in the manga with Lisianthus, although she's apparently [[MarryThemAll willing to share!]]]]* FloralThemeNaming: A lot of names are themed around plants, especially flowers.** Kaede (maple), [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eustoma Lisianthus (and Eustoma)]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerine Nerine]]/[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycoris_(plant) Lycoris]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primula Primula]].** Mayumi [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thyme Thyme]] and Benibara [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianthus_superbus Nadeshiko]].** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia Sage]] and Ai ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigofera indigo plant]]) - Forbesii's wife (former maid) and former fiancee.** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cineraria Cineraria]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilac Lilac]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_(plant) Iris]] - Eustoma's wives.** [[CherryBlossomGirl Sakura]] Yae, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteraceae Daisy]] and Erica Suzuran ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_of_the_Valley lily-of-the-valley]]) - in [[UpdatedRerelease Essence+]]* FreakOut: Kaede after her mother's death and in the anime [[spoiler:once Rin starts spending less time with her and more time with Asa]]* {{Gainaxing}}: Everyone, but Benibara-sensei deserves special mention.* GenkiGirl: Asa and Sia* HeroicBSOD: Kaede goes into one at her mother's funeral. She no longer had any will or reason to live due to the shock. Another occures when Rin starts spending more time with Asa.* HexagonalSpeechBalloon: The anime frequently uses arrow-shaped boxes when someone is talking, both when they're too far away to be seen, and when they're off-screen.* IdiotBall: Gets passed around in a few of the arcs, most notably, Asa's and Kaede's.* IllGirl: [[spoiler:Asa and Primula]], at least to some extent. * InstantFanClub: parodied mercilessly. Just look at ''Kitto Kitto Kaede'' and ''Ai Ai Asa''.* LaserGuidedAmnesia: When [[spoiler:Primula]] starts to lose control, the experimenters were planning on resetting her emotions to bring her back in line.** In the H-Game, [[spoiler: Primula]] pulls it with Rin. In a really inappropriate moment.* LectureAsExposition: The first lecture is the history of the gate opening between the human world and the realms of the gods and demons. Another lecture later on refers to medieval alchemy, relating to the development of science and relating to magic.* {{Leitmotif}}: Some characters have this, the most obvious being Sia and Kaede, whose {{Leitmotif}}s evolved into their [[ImageSong Image Songs]].* LivingEmotionalCrutch: Caring for Rin props up Kaede's entire life. When this is removed, it's not pretty for anyone. * LowerDeckEpisode: The episode that featured Mayumi and Ms. Beni.* ManlyTears: For being the King of the Gods, Eustoma sheds quite a few of them.* MarryThemAll: Sia also notes that the world of the gods is polygamous, thus leaving things potentially open ended. A couple endings do build on this:** Sia has two endings, one of which involves sharing Rin with her sister.** ''VisualNovel/TickTack'', a Nerine spinoff, has something similar as an option.** In Kareha's route Kaede and the other original Shuffle girls (apart from Asa, who is basically included in this decision despite her absence) pull Rin aside to let him know that while they're accepting of his relationship with her, they're not going to give up yet. When Rin tells Kareha about it, she just says that she doesn't know if she'd get jealous or not but if Rin wants to she doesn't really have any problem with the idea. She ''is'' from the world of the gods, even if she's been attending Rin's school for a few years. [[spoiler:In Kareha's epilogue, Tsubomi invites herself into the relationship.]]* MaybeEverAfter: A few endings leave things open for Rin to be polygamous, though the story generally refrains from actually making it canon apart from very specific scenarios.* MistakenForServant: Kaede is mistaken for Rin's maid when their new neighbors come to visit for the first time. Amusingly, she happily agrees that's more or less the case while Rin denies it.* MuggleAndMagicalLoveTriangle: More like love hexagon, but Rin has to choose between the obviously magical Sia, Primula, or Rina, the completely human Kaede, or the almost completely human--save for having contained magical powers--Asa. In the anime at least, [[spoiler:Asa wins.]]* MultipleChoicePast: Inverted with the final choice of Really? Really!, where you're asked by Kaede if you prefer Asa's hair long or short. A few in-game minutes later, Asa appears with the hair length you chose, despite her not even being near you when you answered.* MythologyGag: The covers of both the anime and the {{Visual Novel}}s shows our heroines standing among sunflowers, even though they're never shown anywhere else in the series.* NewTransferStudent: Lisianthus and Nerine. [[spoiler:Primula starts school as well, one grade below the others]].* NoAntagonist: There's no bad guy, of course, but all the girls generally get along, so there aren't any real conflicts among them if Rin happens to like someone else. So the story is generally pretty free of conflict.* {{Ojou}}: Lisianthus and Nerine.* OlderThanTheyLook: Primula has the appearance of a twelve/thirteen year-old girl. She's actually only one year younger than the main characters, who are in high school.** Ama, Asa's mother also qualifies. She's way [[OlderThanTheyLook older than she looks]]. It seems like she's as old as Asa, and Itsuki hits on her before they're introduced.* OneSteveLimit: There are two Rins. The protagonist, and Nerine, who is called Rin [[spoiler:because Lycoris named her after Rin when they met eight years ago]]. Primula is shortened to Rim to add to the confusion.** The English dub tries to makes things clearer by changing Nerine's nickname to Rina and Primula's to Rimu.* OnlySaneMan: Let's just say that [[UnluckyEverydude Rin]]'s friends/love interests have some interesting [[SurvivorsGuilt personal]] [[DysfunctionJunction issues]].* OnlySixFaces: Seriously, half of the characters are palette swaps.* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent: Rin, Kaede and Asa.* OurDemonsAreDifferent: The only notable difference between demons, gods, and humans is that the two former can use magic and have longer ears.* PalsWithJesus: By the start of the series, the god and demon worlds have become so assimilated with the human world that nearly half of Rin's class is made up of them, and Mayumi is actually a half-demon (though the only thing that gives her away is her [[MarkOfTheSupernatural heterochromia eyes]]).* PantyShot: The camera is often set far far lower than it has any other reason to be. Funimation's previews of the anime uses nothing but panty shots as the entire selling point.* ParentalAbandonment: Rin and Kaede: [[spoiler: Rin's parents and Kaede's mom died in the same car crush and their tutor, Kaede's dad, [[DisappearedDad is frequently away in business]].]] Also, Sia and Nerine's mothers are never shown.** At least not in the anime; their mothers both appear in the game sequels ''Tick! Tack!'' and ''Really? Really!'', with Nerine's mother being at the center of the plot of ''Tick! Tack!''.* PeopleJars: [[spoiler:Primula and Ama]]* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Kaede does this several times to Rin late in the anime. Once while [[spoiler: naked and holding him in bed]], and later when Rin makes the decision [[spoiler: to move out of her house]].* PowerOfLove: Primula is saved via [[spoiler:Lycoris/Nerine]] and Rin's love for her.** In the game, Primula's storyline includes[[spoiler: her wiping Rin's mind so he won't miss her when she leaves. The next time he sees her, the memory is miraculously restored.]] The Devil King gives some elaborate theory as to why this could have happened, but in the end says they might just as well call it... That's right. [[spoiler: Primula stays.]]* PetitePride: Mayumi, who wears it as a badge of honour. "[[LuckyStar A flat chest is a symbol of status! A rarity!]]"* RecurringExtra: Masato, a kid who appears in a lot of Navel and Basil games, as ''VisualNovel/SoulLink'' and ''VisualNovel/OretachiNiTsubasaWaNai'', and mischievously lifts the skirts of the heroines.* RelaxOVision: Used when Sia is beating up her father with a chair, when he showed her a wedding dress at the wrong moment.* RememberTheNewGuy: Sakura in Really? Really!. She's Rin's and Kaede's childhood friend who lives in the same town, but hasn't been introduced in the anime or game.* RunningGag: [[MarryThemAll Fortunately, the world of gods allows polygamy!]] It's never [[WhatCouldHaveBeen followed through on]] in the game outside of the ending of Primula's route, though.** In the dub, Kitto Kitto Kaede (now the Knights of Kissing Kaede) always follow up their name with "...Not the guys with the sheets."* ScareChord: A couple in the game. Uses such as when Benibara Nadeshiko first appears or when Rin and Kaede realize their history teacher may give them a really tough assignment are borderline parody.* ScaryShinyGlasses: Used to full effect in the anime by Itsuki numerous times. However, it is usually done as emphasis of expression, not really for intimidation.* SecondYearProtagonist: Though there aren't any first-years shown.* SempaiKohai: Used to address Asa until late in her route. She gets irritated over it when they start dating.* ShoutOut: ** In the anime, the BadassAdorable cat that appears in the show-to-commercials transition ends his combo with a [[StreetFighter Hadoken.]]** There's a [[Franchise/{{Gundam}} Nyandam]] transformable action figure at a toy store.** Really? Really! has scenes [[Franchise/AceAttorney similar to a certain series' cross-examination.]] It even has Rin point his finger out and shout "Really!" (which sounds similar to "Igiari", the Japanese equivalent of "Objection") when you present evidence of a contradiction.* SickEpisode: Primula in episodes 12-13, and Asa gets a few episodes due to [[spoiler: a childhood condition that comes back full force.]]* SplitPersonality: [[spoiler:Nerine's clone, Lycoris, is a partial example, and Sia also has the soul of her dead sister living inside her.]]* StepfordSmiler: [[spoiler:Kaede]] gives off these vibes, before [[{{Yandere}} flipping out.]]* TantrumThrowing: In the VisualNovel, when Rin walks on Primula while she's changing, she starts throwing pillows at him. He mentally notes that if he doesn't leave, she will start throwing heavier things. And when she runs out of heavy things, she will start throwing magic.* ThemeNaming: Most of the characters are named for plants. Kaede is maple, Primula is a kind of flower, Nerine is a genus of flowers, Benibara means red rose and then more obvious names like Daisy or Sakura.* ThemeTuneCameo: In the anime, the theme song is played in the arcade where Rin meets Primula.* ThereAreNoTherapists: Being the main character means having to take over all the responsibilities.* TrappedInThePast: The main plot of ''Tick! Tack!''.* TwoTeacherSchool: Ms. Beni is the only faculty member ever shown at school.* UnwantedHarem: All the pressure to choose a romantic interest among the 5 girls ends up leading to each of them developing their own problems over the whole issue.** It gets worse in the manga adaptation for ''Tick! Tack!'' and ''Really? Really!''.* WeaponOfChoice: Sia [[{{Hammerspace}} always has a chair at the ready]] to wallop her father with. Folding, Patio, School Desk, Recliner.. She has a LOT of chairs to choose from.** It may even be that she has a spell to summon chairs. It would be useful for dinner parties where more guests show up than you have chairs, but, obviously, Sia has found another use for it.* WhamEpisode: Episode 19 is when it becomes obvious that this isn't just another happy comedy harem series.* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: So, what did happen to the InstantFanclub each girl developed, anyhow? (Though their absence can be HandWaved by noting that it would have been MoodDissonance to have their presence in the second half of the series.) Perhaps explained by the action of the {{Gonk}} stalking the main cast every now and then by the final episode [[spoiler: he was thanking Rin for choosing Asa making the other girls available, so the [[InstantFanclub Instant Fanclubs]] were no longer needed to deal with Rin and they simply disbanded.]]* YamatoNadeshiko: Three out of the five girls in the harem are variations on YamatoNadeshiko to varying degrees.** Despite the teacher's last name being Nadeshiko, it's actually averted with her.* {{Yandere}}: Anime only: [[spoiler:Kaede starts heading down this path very quickly near the end when it becomes clear she didn't get Rin.]]** Subverted. [[spoiler: She pushes Asa down.]] Even that made her feel horrible. It might have been worse if Rin hadn't been there though. * YouGottaHaveBlueHair: And Orange, Green, Red, Yellow, Purple...----